Mission to India: jobs of the future depend on it

The Chancellor of the Exchequer explains why the Government is leading the
strongest British delegation to visit India in modern times

India matters. Its economy is growing at three times the speed of ours. By 2030 it may have overtaken us in size.

Its companies already employ 100,000 people in the UK. British retailers from Marks & Spencer to Mothercare, Austin Reed to Topshop, are reaping the rewards of having invested in an Indian retail sector growing at 25pc a year.

And it’s not just a matter of economics. Later this year thousands of athletes will gather in Delhi for the Commonwealth Games. By the middle of this decade, India aims to be only the fourth country to have put a man in space. A billion more cinema-goers around the world settle down with their popcorn to watch a Bollywood film than rival Hollywood productions.

That’s why this week David Cameron will lead the strongest British delegation to visit India in modern times. A trip – on which I will join William Hague, Vince Cable and other Cabinet ministers – that marks the start of a new partnership between the UK and India.

It’s why our delegation will include the CEOs of some of the world’s best-known companies, including Vodafone, BAe, and Standard Chartered, as well as Olympians Sebastian Coe, Kelly Holmes and Steve Redgrave, academics from our top universities, and some of our most eminent cultural leaders including the directors of the British Museum and British Library.

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Of course, this new partnership builds on our shared heritage and common language – what has been described to me as the “cultural comfort” between our two nations.

We must not be shy about our advantages. English is the second language, studied by 250 million Indian students – four times the population of Britain. Many British companies have long-standing associations with India. Standard Chartered, the largest international bank in India, opened its first branch in Calcutta in 1858.

But nor is there any doubt that Britain can learn and benefit much from a renewed and strengthened partnership with India – a partnership founded on a shared vision of improved international co-operation, increased cross-border investment and growing future prosperity.

So we want British brands and businesses to be able to make the most of a fast-expanding Indian middle class. Today we export four times more to Ireland’s population of less than 5 million than to India’s of 1.2 billion. That must change. And the opportunities are clear.

Take the telecoms sector. 580 million Indians own a mobile phone. 15 million more subscribe each month. Vodafone’s 100 million subscribers – four times the number it has in the UK – makes it the number two firm in the market.

Or financial services. Less than one in two of the Indian population has a bank account. Only one in eight has a cashpoint card. It’s a huge opportunity for our world-class financial companies.

Take insurance. Six of our leading firms are involved in joint ventures. The Prudential’s is the national market leader.

And it’s a two-way relationship. I am proud that two-thirds of Indian companies operating in the European Union have their HQs in Britain. And that 10pc of India’s overseas investments are made in the UK.

But we can do even better. So we travel with a clear message to every dynamic and ambitious entrepreneur in India: if you want to come to Britain, set up a business, invest in our country, then we will support you in doing that.

The jobs of the future depend upon Britain’s ability to attract the best talent to our shores and to enable our companies to compete with and beat their international rivals.

As such, it’s a central part of the coalition Government’s new economic model – pulling from the ruins of an economy built on debt, a new, balanced economy where we save, invest and export and build the foundations for an enterprise-led recovery.

Alongside a renewed UK-India economic partnership, we want India to become a special partner in tackling a range of international challenges. Both our countries have had to face the scourge of terrorism.

Nor can we reach agreement on how to tackle climate change without recognising the economic needs of the fast emerging economies.

So UK-India collaboration can make a real difference to jobs and prosperity in both our nations, and to solving our shared global challenges.

Our coalition Government is profoundly committed to a new special relationship with India – between our governments, our businesses and our peoples.